Star Wars: Starfighter has quietly added another important piece behind the scenes — and this one comes with some very familiar Star Wars mileage.
According to Adam Gerstel’s résumé at Independent Artist Group, Gerstel is listed as the editor of Star Wars: Starfighter, the upcoming Lucasfilm movie directed by Shawn Levy. Not the loudest piece of casting news in the galaxy, sure. But editing is where a Star Wars movie either flies like an X-wing or crashes into a committee meeting with expensive lighting.
A Familiar Name From The Mandalorian
Gerstel is not new to Star Wars. As noted by Bespin Bulletin’s report on Gerstel joining Starfighter, he previously edited The Mandalorian Season 2 episodes “Chapter 9: The Marshal” and “Chapter 16: The Rescue.”
That is a pretty interesting pair of credits.
“The Marshal” helped launch Season 2 with Cobb Vanth, Tusken Raiders, a krayt dragon, and the kind of dusty western energy The Mandalorian eats for breakfast. “The Rescue,” meanwhile, had to juggle Dark Troopers, Moff Gideon, Din Djarin’s emotional goodbye to Grogu, and one of the most carefully staged legacy character reveals in modern Star Wars.
No pressure, then.
Big Blockbuster Mileage
Outside Star Wars, Gerstel’s résumé includes major studio work such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Lilo & Stitch, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Transformers: The Last Knight. That is a very VFX-heavy CV, which matters for a film called Starfighter. You do not hire someone with that background because your movie is mostly about two people calmly discussing taxation in a white room.
Lucasfilm has already described Star Wars: Starfighter as a new theatrical adventure starring Ryan Gosling and set approximately five years after The Rise of Skywalker. The later cast announcement on StarWars.com also confirmed names including Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
The Invisible Job That Shapes Everything
This is not the kind of update that gets a trailer reaction video with someone screaming into a microphone for twelve minutes. But it is still worth paying attention to.
Editing defines rhythm, tension, clarity, and emotion — especially in a Star Wars movie that appears to be introducing new characters rather than leaning entirely on legacy nostalgia. Gerstel has already worked on the Mando side of the galaxy, and he has enough blockbuster experience to understand how to keep large-scale spectacle from turning into shiny soup.
And yes, with a title like Starfighter, there is also obvious gaming nostalgia floating around. For anyone keeping track of the franchise’s long history in cockpits, consoles, and questionable flight physics, our complete list of all Star Wars games ever made is still dangerously easy to lose an afternoon in.
Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 28, 2027.
